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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · press · race · pop · court · cap

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. court — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cap — a hat
  5. court — of a king
  6. race — humankind
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pop — soda
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pop — music
  11. court — of law
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — farmland
  14. press — to push
  15. field — for sport
  16. pop — to visit
  17. race — a contest
  18. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com